The second session of the Atmanirbharta Karmayogi MDP on Atmanirbhar Bharat was delivered by Shri Giridhar Aramane, IAS (Retd), Former Defence Secretary. A thought-provoking session by our esteemed faculty shed light on India's journey toward Atmanirbharta—self-reliance in the defence sector. The session offered an insightful overview of the vision, objectives, and achievements that are reshaping India's defence capabilities. We are inevitably moving towards a multi-polar world, where no single country dominates, and each nation is striving to protect its interests. Even global powers like the United States are focusing more on internal resilience and localized supply chains. At the same time, technology disruptions are rapidly changing the nature of global threats—new technologies are rendering old ones obsolete, forcing nations to innovate continuously or fall behind.
In this shifting context, the key question is: What should be India’s long-term vision? The first and foremost is he spirit of “India First,” and every action taken by an organization or individual should be aligned not just with business interests, but also with the broader national interest. And to secure its place in the global order, India must aim to achieve unassailability and focus on gaining strategic autonomy.
To achieve the vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, the focus should be on building manufacturing excellence at scale through a vibrant local ecosystem capable of producing complex systems, with increased private sector participation across the value chain. India has made considerable progress in increasing indigenous content in key defence platforms, but significant gaps remain. For instance, the Tejas fighter jet currently has an indigenous content of 53.7%, with the capability to reach 75% by 2029. The Indian Light Tank, however, stands at only 39.5% indigenization, highlighting the need for further investment and development. In contrast, submarine programs have achieved around 90% indigenization, with the goal of reaching 100% soon. Recently, Operation Sindoor has demonstrated the critical importance of surveillance capabilities. While India has the technical expertise in space and satellite technology, scaling up production to meet strategic demands remains a challenge.
Despite a three times rise in defence production and a 30 times increase in exports, the key sectors such as Propulsion Systems, Submarines, Missiles, Composite Materials, Sensors, and Fighter Aircraft require increased investment to achieve true self-reliance under the "Force Hexagon" strategy. A key insight is that research is long-term innovation, not instant manufacturing—scientists need time, support, and patience to succeed.
The session ended with engaging questions and discussions, reflecting a strong interest in self-reliance and innovation in India's defence sector.